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Alec Hardison
Growing up in a foster home, Alec Hardison only knows two things: computers and technology. A geek of the first order, Hardison (as he is usually called) handles the team's electronics and monitors the team's communications through modified bone conduction earbuds. He also modified the team's cellphones, which the team can use for a variety of uses. While not a grifter like Sophie, as a hacker (and through his foster grandmother), Hardison has developed excellent social engineering skills. Always quick with a joke or snide remark, his somewhat lack of maturity has caused the team problems, but he always comes through in the clutch. Hardison's natural charm allows him to get along easy with most people. His relationships with the team vary. He has special relationships with two members of his team. With Eliot Spencer, it's more of a friendly rivalry similar to that of brothers. With Parker, it's more akin to romantic attraction. As of episode one of Season 5 Hardison is dating Parker. Hardison is not to be underestimated whether in cyberspace or the real world. It is through Hardison's expertise that Leverage Consulting & Associates gains the technologies around the earbuds and the cell phones. Hardison is also the handler of the various vans that the team has used. Skills *Hacking - He gathers all the recon material they need for the case (S02EP06) and because of this he usually does the mission briefings for each job. He erases the electronic paper trail so they cannot be tracked after each job, and is able to track and trace anybody as long as they leave one as well (S01EP04). Has taps into all the banking and CIA systems, regularly uses computer viruses, managed to hack the San Lorenzo email system to send a message to every citizen in just an hour (S03EP16), and hacked into the White House email in 3 days (S02EP01). On the job, he is usually behind the scenes, operating from one of the team's vans, as the main contact amongst the other Leverage members - analysing footage, monitoring comms, scanning police frequencies... (S02EP07). *Electronics *Social Network engineering *Limited Pickpocketing skills (while the team was held prisoner inside a hospital, Hardison was able to lift a cell phone from one of the doctors, and he was also able to use a claw to lift two sets of car keys from U.S. Marshals' pockets.) *A pedestrian appreciation for art, as he is an amateur painter, but confesses that he is not well versed in "Dead Guy Art". *Improvisation, Hardison was an attendee of Second City in Chicago. *Plays the violin. He was a very good violinist when he was a teenager, and he gained standing ovations after his performance in The Scheherazade Job, although it was revealed that Nate had hypnotized him. *Grifting (with the help of Sophie) - Not a good grifter because he tends to oversell himself, as his titular role in The Ice Man Job where he overdoes it and ends up kidnapped by the Russian mobsters instead. *Bomb making. *Forger (as seen in "The King George Job") *Creating CIA level cover stories and IDs - these are so extensive that Parker’s alias Alice White gets called up for jury duty! (1×11). *Very financially savvy, he earned the team a windfall by buying the right shares and even more than expected because he knows how to play the markets (1×01). According to Kung Fu Monkey, he was the financial mastermind in complicated insurance scams which in turn led to him meeting Nate. *Chemistry - he knew enough to create the miracle that made the statue cry in The Miracle Job (S01EP04) *People Skills - He attributes his people skills to being raised a Jehovah's Witness and going door to door to speak with strangers when he was young. This experience paid off at least once when he won a losing case with a touching closing statement while pretending to be a lawyer. Weaknesses *Overconfidence at times and a lack of confidence when things go south. *Completely useless with firearms. *Claustrophobic. *Is afraid of heights and rappelling, often landing upside down whenever he goes rappelling with Parker. Notables Episodes Season 1 *The Nigerian Job *The Mile High Job Season 2 *The Three Days of the Hunter Job *The Ice Man Job Season 3 *The Scheherazade Job *The Double Blind Job *The Gone Fishin' Job Season 4 *The Van Gogh Job *The Grave Danger Job *The Experimental Job *The Boys' Night Out Job *The Gold Job Relationships with Other Characters Hardison's overconfidence comes out in Season 3 as he gains experience with the team. He is unique in the sense that he is put into multiple situations where he had to be a thief (Parker) and a grifter (Sophie). This leads him to believe he is ready for the next level, planning for his own crew although Nate believes otherwise. Parker Hardison often works closest with Parker, as their two skill sets compliment one another. As a result, Hardison has developed a crush on Parker. Parker was originally either ignorant or oblivious to this. (In "The Stork Job", he expressed some of his feelings toward her in the description of the Leverage Team, "We're more than just a team." In "The First David Job", she makes out with Hardison to elude physical security, which leaves him even more confused as to their relationship, as she doesn't mention it again.) Season 3 has definitely shown that the two have become very close, and now Parker has shown she has feelings for Hardison. At the end of "The Double Blind Job", after a feeble attempt at trying to express her feelings for him, Hardison made it clear to her that he will be there when she is ready. In "The Big Bang Job", Parker tells Hardison she is in the mood for pretzels, referencing their conversation at the end of "The Double Blind Job". In season 4, he made Parker a robot, naming it Parker 2000. In "The Long Way Down Job", it seems like they might be dating when Parker said, "I should meet your nana." to which he answers "Yeah you should, she's really... Wait, what?" In the "The Grave Danger Job", they showed how much they care for each other when Hardison was almost killed and he was on the phone with Parker and said, "Parker, don't hang up the phone. Please, I need you" Also there was a kiss at the end of the episode. As of season 5 episode 1, the two are dating. In season 5 episode 3, Parker is seen wearing Hardison's shirt, and Parker climbs on top of Hardison inside an air vent and whispers to him, millimeters from his lips, "see, vents are better", to which Hardison replies, "this isn't that bad". At the end of this episode, Hardison and Parker's plan to go on a picnic under the stars is foiled after a big thunder storm begins. Parker is disappointed, but Hardison cheers her up by electronically creating stars so they can have the picnic inside. She then whispers to him, "I'll be right here", and points to his heart,then the two hug. Sophie Devereaux Sophie is a teammate to Hardison. It is clear to him that she and Nathan have a deeper relationship and he respects her as much as he respects Nathan. Nathan Ford As the team leader, Hardison respects Nathan. When Nathan rebukes Hardison in "The Mile High Job", Hardison is challenged, which eventually helps him save the day. In "The Nigerian Job", Hardison is quick to realize that Nathan is a good influence on him. Also, Hardison is Nate's landlord after he secretly buys the apartment building used for Leverage Headquarters in the second season. Eliot Spencer At first, Hardison and Eliot are combative, as both of their disciplines are opposite to the other. (Hardison is the covert backdoor electronic type, while Eliot is the physical and less subversive operative.) They are competitive and clash in the beginning. Eventually, the two see the need for the other, and when they work together, good things happen. They are seen singing a short duet together in season 5. Trivia * He was able to crack the Pentagon servers when he was only 12 years old (S05EP09) * According to James Sterling's people, Hardison is wanted in Iceland. This was later revealed in the episode "The Reunion Job" when Parker asked whether he went to his prom night, he told that he was busy, while actually at that moment, he made The Bank of Iceland paid his nana's medical bill. * After Leverage Consulting & Associates moved to Boston, Hardison frequently used a van which he named Lucille. It was destroyed in the episode "The Three Strikes Job" as a diversion. Afterward, he was very mad at Nate, saying that he killed Lucille. * Has a residence in Chicago which was used initially by the Leverage Team as a base of operations in The Nigerian Job. * Hardison is a fan of various genres of Science Fiction, making references to: Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Doctor Who, and Star Wars. He was caught impersonating Mick Jagger in a hotel room with 3 Leia wannabes holding lightsabers and tried to use the Jedi mind trick to escape (S01EP01). He tries to get Eliot to use a code that references odd numbered Star Trek films as meaning everything is ok, and references to even numbered Star Treks meaning something is wrong. He used Ralph O'Khan (Wrath of Khan) to hint to Eliot he was in danger (S02EP03). Fan of Doctor Who – watches the show regularly (S01EP05), also uses the names of past Doctor Who actors as aliases, like Tom Baker and Sarah Jane (S01EP08). * Has been confused by fans for being the tailback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. * Favorite beverage is Squeeze Orange Soda, and his favorite snack is gummy frogs. * Is religious but is non-denominational. * Has a dog named Megabyte (Reboot reference). * Played violin until he was 14, then he picked up computers. * Has aspirations to run his own crew; however, Nate thinks he lacks the quality to do whatever it takes to make his crew work (S03EP04). * According to Parker, he touches his chin once every 2.5 minutes. * Has a fear of heights (S01EP01) or at the very least jumping off heights with just a harness. * His way of inflicting revenge on a person is sending them 1000 porno magazines (S01EP01) * Unbelievable rubbish shot, evidenced when he shot the paintball gun (S01EP04) and when he accidently shot out a car's engine when he said he was aiming for the person's leg (S01EP10). * Enjoys playing World of Warcraft - in fact, he enjoys it so much he overslept for a job because he was up the previous night playing the new expansion pack (S01EP08). * Has a tell in Rock-Paper-Scissors, according to Eliot (S01EP09). * Most susceptible to hypnosis, according to Sophie (S03EP04). * Owns a Green Lantern action figure * Is known to blow large sums of money on a whim. Bought large mansion that was rumored to have belonged to Mick Jagger, in an attempt to "lay low" after him and the crew split up for a brief period after The First David Job (S01EP12). Also bought a red Ferrari (mentioned below) just for a bigshot character he was portraying in a grift (S02EP08). Also bought Nate's entire appartment complex, becoming his landlord, just so he could move in his equipment against Nate's wishes. * He is 24 in S03EP16. Vehicles * His personal vehicle is a Black Hyundai Genesis sedan, equipped with GPS tracking. * In "The Ice Man Job", Hardison buys a red Ferrari. Links * earbudshttp://www.tnt.tv/series/leverage/characters/?contentId=41356 Category:Characters